Trying to allow a normal user to run a command which requires inputting root password

Question

I have this tool which allows users to manage printers in the linux environment. I need to allow a user to run this tool without giving him the root password. The permissions on the tool are:

-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root       78 Dec  4  2008 system-config-printer

Answer 1

The sudo command is very configurable, and can be used to grant specific users permission to run specific commands. Use visudo to edit /etc/sudoers, and enter a line like the following:

bob ALL = (root) NOPASSWD: /usr/sbin/system-config-printer

The user bob would then run sudo /usr/sbin/system-config-printer in order to run the tool.

Answer 2

That is a great way to achieve that goal and i will use it myself next time. I used another method though: i've edited /etc/group and added the user in the end of the sys line: sys:x:3:root,bin,adm,itaig

anyways, thanks for your solution. Itai